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Maria Kanellis
| birth_place = Ottawa, Illinois | death_date = | death_place = | resides = Chicago, Illinois | billed = Chicago, Illinois | trainer = OVW Finlay FCW | debut = 2004 | retired = }} Maria Louise Bennett '''(née '''Kanellis) (February 25, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment. Kanellis was a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004. In the same year, she placed fifth in the Raw Diva Search, but was later hired by WWE as a backstage interviewer. Kanellis began competing in the ring as a wrestler in 2005. It was not until 2007, however, that she received her major push in the company, as the on-screen love interest of Santino Marella. As a result, she received more air time and began winning more matches than she had previously. She also posed for the April 2008 cover of Playboy magazine, which was incorporated into a storyline on Raw. Kanellis is currently appearing on the independent circuit, primarily appearing with Ring of Honor, where she serves as Mike Bennett's valet, and Family Wrestling Entertainment, where she is a 2-time former Women's Champion. She released her debut album evin Sins on April 13, 2010 on iTunes. Early life Kanellis was born in Ottawa, Illinois. Kanellis grew up with an interest in playing sports, particularly volleyball, basketball, and softball and graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 2000, before spending some time as a student at Northern Illinois University. Career history World Wrestling Entertainment Diva Search and debut (2004–2005) Kanellis competed in the Raw Diva Search in 2004, deciding to enter the contest after seeing an advertisement while watching Raw. Even though she only placed fifth in the contest, she was hired by the company. She stood out in the contest by giving fellow contestant Carmella DeCesare the finger after being eliminated from the contest. Maria began making appearances at the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) training facility under head trainer Paul Heyman. She contributed booking ideas, and her work at OVW earned her a spot on the Raw brand roster. Maria was brought on to Raw as a backstage interviewer in November 2004. She quickly earned a reputation as the oblivious backstage reporter — Maria seemed to ask the wrong questions, irritating and amusing WWE Superstars and Divas. In 2005, Maria began to get very physical—in and out of the ring. She was defeated in her first official match on the January 10, 2005 edition of Raw by Christy Hemme in a Lingerie Pillow Fight. She also competed in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Diva Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday for the WWE Women's Championship but was the first to be eliminated by Trish Stratus and Mickie James. In another physical moment, Stratus slapped Maria so hard that one of her fillings legitimately fell out. On November 14, Maria competed in a non-title Diva Battle Royal at the Eddie Guerrero tribute Raw show. Maria stood by herself for most of the match, only getting involved when she saw the opportunity to eliminate a competitor, a strategy that proved effective as she eliminated both Jillian Hall and Victoria. She was one of the last three women left in the match but was eliminated by both Melina and Trish Stratus. On the November 28 edition of Raw, Maria interviewed then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff and asked him whether or not he thought he was going to be fired. He then booked her a match with Kurt Angle out of spite, and Maria was laid out with the Angle Slam. As a result, one week later, Maria testified in the trial against Bischoff, who was being fired because of his controversial actions as General Manager. As Mick Foley questioned her, she answered, unusually intelligently, "Last week Bischoff abused his power in a way that was both malicious and capricious, and it’s this rash discourse that has led to a locker room of disdain and mutiny, and it should be grounds for his immediate dismissal." Various feuds; Relationship with Santino Marella (2006–2008) In early 2006, Maria defeated Victoria in a match. Afterwards, she was attacked by Vince's Devils (Victoria, Torrie Wilson, and Candice Michelle), but she was saved by Ashley Massaro. During a commercial break that night, Vince McMahon announced a Bra & Panties Gauntlet match for New Year's Revolution between all five girls that had previously been in the ring. At New Year's Revolution, Maria was the first to enter the Gauntlet match and eliminated Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson before being eliminated by Victoria. The match was ultimately won by Massaro. Maria teamed with John Cena (who, earlier that evening, had kissed her to calm her nerves) to take on Edge and Lita in the main event on the February 6 edition of Raw. Maria scored the victory after a spear meant for Cena hit Lita. One month later, Maria lost a singles match to Lita after missing a clothesline and falling prey to Lita's DDT. After the match, Edge was preparing to spear Maria, but Mick Foley ran in to help her. On October 16, Maria won a Fatal Four Way Bra and Panties match against Victoria, Candice Michelle, and Torrie Wilson to advance to the semi-finals in a Women's Championship Tournament. Maria, however, lost in the semi-finals of the Tournament against Lita. On the January 1, 2007 edition of Raw, Maria attempted to interview Kevin Federline but was instead slapped by Melina and called a "bitch". This led to a match between the two later that night, with Melina winning with a Roll-up following a failed attempt at a dropkick. At New Year's Revolution, Maria and Candice Michelle ran to the ring during the Women's Championship match between Victoria and Mickie James to stop Melina from interfering, helping their friend Mickie to retain the championship. For two consecutive weeks afterwards, Maria had two tag team partners—Mickie James and Jeff Hardy, respectively—to take on Melina and a partner. She lost the match with James, but won the other with Jeff. As a part of her entrance when teaming with Hardy, she mimicked the dance he performs at the top of the entrance ramp, a moment she later claimed as a favorite in her career. Maria began an on-screen romance with Santino Marella in June 2007. She also resumed competing in the ring occasionally, often jobbing, or losing quickly, in short matches. On the November 5 edition of Raw, Marella was confronted by the returning Stone Cold Steve Austin for criticizing his movie, The Condemned. As a part of the storyline, the argument ended as Marella received a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin, who then went backstage, only to return with a Budweiser beer truck to hose down Marella and Maria with beer. After former Playboy cover-girl Ashley Massaro's return in early 2008, Kanellis engaged in backstage segments where Ashley suggested Maria should be on the cover of Playboy, including at the Royal Rumble, to the disdain of Marella. As a part of the Playboy storyline, Maria defeated Beth Phoenix on February 18, to "earn the right" to be on the cover of the magazine. During her Playboy cover unveiling, Maria's cover was plastered over with images of Marella. After Marella offered an ultimatum of posing for the magazine or staying with him as a couple, she stated, "No man and no one is going to make this decision for me" and broke up with her on-screen boyfriend. Maria, along with Ashley, were defeated by Phoenix and Melina at WrestleMania XXIV in a Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match. After the match, Maria kissed the Master of Ceremonies, Snoop Dogg. SmackDown and Championship Pursuit (2008-2010) As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Maria was drafted to the SmackDown brand. Maria made her debut on the August 1 edition of SmackDown ''by defeating Victoria. Later, Maria won a Las Vegas Dice on a Pole match to become the #1 Contender for the WWE Divas Championship against Michelle McCool, which Maria failed to win. Maria participated in a five-on-five Raw vs Smackdown Divas Elimination match at Survivor Series and unintentionally got Michelle eliminated. Maria would eventually be eliminated by Candice Michelle. On the December 5 edition of ''SmackDown, Maria defeated Michelle in a non-title match, After the match ended, Michelle began turning villainous by attacking Maria in a backstage segment. Two weeks later, Maria was defeated by Maryse in a #1 Contender's match for the Divas Championship. On the December 26 edition of SmackDown, Maria served as the special guest referee for the Divas Championship match between Michelle and Maryse, which saw Maryse emerge victorious and win the title. After the match ended, Michelle turned into a villainess and attacked Maria, blaming her for the loss. On January 21, 2009, Maria returned and attacked Michelle on that night's edition of SmackDown. On the February 10 edition of SmackDown, Maria defeated the evil Michelle following interference from Eve Torres. Maria made her in ring return on the July 3 edition of SmackDown! teaming with Melina to defeat Michelle McCool and Layla. Soon after, she entered into an on-screen relationship with Dolph Ziggler, despite her being a fan favorite and him being a villainous character. At Night of Champions, Maria accompanied Ziggler to his match with Rey Mysterio. In the following weeks, Melina implied that Ziggler was cheating on Maria, which Maria did not believe. Maria and Dolph Ziggler later broke up on the October 10 edition of SmackDown! in a backstage segment, after she cost him his match. Maria then took a brief hiatus from the ring to film the Celebrity Apprentice but returned on the December 4 episode of SmackDown! by helping Mickie James fend off an attack by Michelle McCool and Layla. She made her in-ring return the following week, teaming up with James to defeat McCool and Layla. On December 14, Maria won the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year. On the February 12 edition of Smackdown!, Maria began an onscreen relationship with Matt Hardy. Her last match in WWE was a six person tag team match on the February 25 edition of WWE Superstars, but her team The Great Khali and Matt Hardy lost to The Hart Dynasty and Natalya Neidhart. She was released from her WWE contract on February 26. Ring of Honor 2011–Present Maria Kanellis, has confirmed via her Twitter account that she will be appearing at Ring of Honor's Final Battle iPPV. She will be in the corner of Mike "The Prodigy" Bennett, who is her boyfriend in real life. The show will take place on Friday, December 23. Trivia *Kanellis' favorite wrestler to watch is Shawn Michaels. *Southwest and United are Kanellis' least favorite airlines. *Kanellis has been asked to appear in Playboy since she was 19. *If Kanellis could choose any Marvel superhero as a tag team partner, she'd pick Jean Grey, Storm or She-Hulk. *Kanellis' brother was a soldier five years ago and her cousin is currently serving in Iraq. *Kanellis dated fellow wrestler John Cena (the relationship lasted 1 year) Quotes When asked which wrestler she'd like to work with the most: Wrestling facts *'Finishing and signature moves' :*'Beautiful Bulldog' :*Bronco Buster :*Headscissors Takedown *'Wrestlers managed' :*Santino Marella (WWE) (2007-2008) :*Jeff Hardy (1 time) :*Other WWE Divas :*Dolph Ziggler :*John Cena (3 times) *'Theme music' :*'"With Legs Like That" by Zebrahead (WWE)' Championships and accomplishments *'Family Wrestling Entertainment' **FWE Women's Championship (2 times) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI ranked her #29 in the 2008 PWI Top 50 Females *'WWE' **Slammy Award for Diva of the Year (2009) See also *Maria Kanellis’ event history External links *Maria profile at WWE.com *Maria Kanellis profile at CAGEMATCH.net Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, Maria Category:Interviewers Category:Managers and valets Category:1982 births Category:2004 debuts Category:Chikara Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Crossfire Wrestling alumni Category:Family Wrestling Entertainment current roster Category:Northeast Wrestling alumni Kanellis, Maria Category:Pro Wrestling Syndicate alumni Category:Ring of Honor current roster Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Illinois wrestlers Category:Playboy cover girls Category:WWE Diva Search contestants Category:Florida Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Premier Wrestling Xperience alumni Category:Preston City Wrestling alumni Category:Remix Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Top Rope Promotions alumni Category:Warriors Of Wrestling alumni Category:Deutsche Wrestling Allianz alumni Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Premiere Wrestling Xperience alumni Category:House Of Hardcore current roster Category:Living people